Melody Thomas Scott Re-Signs With 'The Young and the Restless'

It’s about damn time. After months of standstill, Melody Thomas Scott tonight confirmed to TV Guide’s Michael Logan that she is returning to The Young and the Restless, having inked a new contract with the soap.

She begins taping next month. The actress has been embroiled in a contract dispute since this summer, tweeting on June 2, “I don’t know if or when I’ll be shooting again. This week’s air shows were my last, until someone determines otherwise.” The actress’ last taping date was April 28.

While mum on the storyline specifics of her return, Ms. Thomas Scott did say her new scenes should begin airing in November and hinted that Nikki has been busy with more than just rehab, telling TV Guide, “The rehab thing only lasted so long and now she’s disappeared and has been doing other things.”

When asked about the reasons behind her long absence from the show, Ms. Thomas Scott stated she “can’t pretend to know for sure” but agreed that the reason was financial. She also asserted that Maria Bell was not to blame, saying, “A lot of people have been misled and think that this has been Maria’s fault and that is absolutely not the case.”

Ms. Thomas Scott also made certain to credit social media, and maintained that without twitter and the way her fans rallied around her on the site, “I don’t know that I would be coming back.”

For more of Melody Thomas Scott’s interview with Michael Logan, visit TVGuide.com

My POV: While this is welcome news, and there can be no denying Melody Thomas Scott IS Y&R’s leading lady, the recent string of confusing stunt castings, firings and poor storyline choices cannot be erased by this one act.

What began with the shocking termination of Maura West’s contract has continued right up until yesterday with the announcement that several more cast members had been axed, including Eden Riegel (Heather), Sean Patrick Flanery (Sam) , Tristan Rogers (Colin) and Darius McCrary (Malcolm). In fact, Riegel found out she’d been let go, not from her boss, but via Twitter, which could only have added insult to injury.

Though the cast of Y&R is inarguably too large, the seemingly random way cast members are added and discarded has become more than distracting. And while the return of MTS is wonderful and overdue, it doesn’t erase the string of bad decisions, both behind the scenes and in-front of the camera, the showrunners have recently made. Let’s hope signing Ms. Thomas Scott to a deserved new contract finally signals a new leaf being turned over in Genoa City.